Welcome to episode sixty-one of New Creation Conversations. I’m very excited in today’s conversation to be joined by my friend and colleague from both NNU and here at College Church, Dr. Diane Leclerc. Diane has served Northwest Nazarene University for 24 years as Professor of Historical Theology. She is an alum of Eastern Nazarene College. She has a Master of Divinity degree from Nazarene Theological Seminary and another Master’s Degree in Philosophy and PhD in Theological and Religious Studies from Drew University.
Diane has co-edited a series of books with Dr. Mark Maddix – Essential Beliefs, Essential Church, Pastoral Practices, and Spiritual Formation (each articulating a Wesleyan theological perspective in those areas). She has written one of the best summaries and introductions to Wesleyan-Holiness theology out there in her book, Discovering Christian Holiness: The Heart of Wesleyan-Holiness Theology.
We talk about all of those works, but our primary focus is on her soon-to-be-released book (co-authored with [friend-of-the-podcast] Dr. Brent Peterson), The Back Side of the Cross: An Atonement Theology for the Abused and Abandoned (published by Cascade Press). As you will hear, this has been a book that has been percolating in Diane’s life and thoughts for a decade or more, and it is wonderful that it is finally going to come out now. I had a chance to read a pre-publication edition of the book, and it has not only reshaped my imagination in so many ways related to the atonement and the significance of the cross, but it has helped me know how to extend transforming grace to those who have suffered at the hands of others. I’m biased, but I do think Diane and Brent’s book has the chance to be deeply transformative in the lives of many people and will change the way those of you who listening and are pastoring will preach in the future. I’m thankful for this new book and the chance to bring this conversation to you.